Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
Most Recent: News
Telltale: “Unannounced partnerships” and “original IP” in the works as new CEO steps in
It’s obvious that Telltale Games loves playing in the sandboxes of other people. The publisher has partnered with more than a dozen different creators over the years, translating each of their unique properties into a Telltale-styled adventure game. But every company has that itch to tell their own stories and Telltale is no different.
We’ve learned this thanks to a changing of the guard in Telltale’s management structure. Kevin Bruner, one of the company’s co-founders is stepping into the role of CEO, which was recently vacated by Dan Connors, who will remain with Telltale as an Executive Advisor. Bruner’s first order of business was to tell the world that Telltale is currently developing multiple games based on “unannounced partnerships” as well as an original property, their first since 2011’s Puzzle Agent 2:
“Our top priority is to continue fostering an environment where the most talented and creative storytellers in the industry are working side by side with the world’s biggest creative partners. We’re already working on some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, and when you add our unannounced partnerships and upcoming original IP, it’s clear the most exciting time to be at Telltale is now, and there will continue to be more and more opportunity to innovate ahead of us.”
It’s unknown when Telltale will officially unveil these unannounced projects as they’ve already got a pretty full plate for 2015. In the near term, the developer has committed to completing Game of Thrones and Tales From the Borderlands, both of which began in late 2014. And they will also commence work on Minecraft: Story Mode and The Walking Dead Season 3, both of which are set to premiere sometime this year.
Posted in News
Puzzle & Dragons Z is still on track for a western release
With the recent announcement of Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, some people have become worried that the North American release of the previously-announced Puzzle & Dragons Z would be canceled.
But the Twitter account for publisher GungHo Online has confirmed that there’s no need to worry, as it looks like the 3DS game is still on track for a North American (and likely European) release:
@Emolyptic actually P&D Z was officially announced for a western release by our company president – no details at this time, but stay tuned!
— GungHo Online (@GungHo_America) January 8, 2015
Puzzle & Dragons Z is a match-3 puzzler that includes RPG elements. It is extremely popular in Japan, where it has sold more than 1.3 million copies since its release in December 2013.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Puzzle & Dragons Z
Forza 6 announced; Ford GT, Shelby Mustang, F-150 Raptor slated to appear in game
Microsoft has just announced that Forza Motorsport 6 is in development at Turn 10 Studios and will be exclusively released for the Xbox One. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the franchise’s debut, and while Microsoft wouldn’t confirm that the game will be released this year, they did say that the first gameplay trailer will make its debut during the 2015 E3 Expo in June.
The consolemaker has also partnered with Ford to introduce three new Ford vehicles in the game. The Ford GT, Shelby GT350 Mustang, and F-150 Raptor will all be included in Forza 6 with the GT serving as the game’s “cover car.” All three were first unveiled by Ford today during the first day of the North American International Auto Show, so this news actually serves as something of a double announcement.
“It is an honor to share this historic moment with Ford and celebrate the legacy of the GT by making it the featured cover car of Forza Motorsport 6,” said Phil Spencer, the Head of Microsoft’s Xbox Division. “We’re thrilled to have the unique opportunity to announce Forza Motorsport 6 the day the car debuts – on one of the biggest stages in the automotive industry – and we can’t wait to share more details on the game later this year.”
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, Forza Motorsport 6
Call of Duty Online open beta now available in China
Call of Duty Online was first announced back in 2011, and after a series of alpha tests and closed betas, Activision, and Chinese publishing partner Tencent, are finally ready to launch an open beta for the PC game.
“Millions of gamers in the West have come to appreciate that white-knuckled, epic thrill-ride that only Call of Duty delivers. And now an entire new audience of gamers will experience this for the first time. We believe Call of Duty Online is going to be a game-changer for Chinese gamers,” said Eric Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision Publishing. “We’ve worked closely with our partner at Tencent, and we’ve challenged one of our most trusted and talented development teams of Raven Software to create a true Call of Duty experience tailored for the Chinese market. Throughout testing, the community feedback has been tremendous. We couldn’t be more excited and we look forward to winning the hearts and minds of a new community in China.”
Call of Duty Online was developed by Raven Software exclusively for the Chinese market, so it’s unlikely that the free-to-play game will ever be available for western gamers. But that didn’t stop Activision from going all out and creating a nifty live action trailer for the launch featuring Chris Evans (AKA Captain America).
If you live in China (or speak Chinese), more information on Call of Duty Online is available through the game’s official website.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Call of Duty Online
Rock Band 3 DLC returns with tracks from Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold
Harmonix closed the curtain on updates to the Rock Band Music Store in 2013, fittingly, with Don Mclean’s “American Pie.” But today, the famed developer announced that they drove their Chevy to the levy and discovered that it wasn’t dry. These three songs will be added to the store on January 13 (hey, that’s tomorrow):
- Arctic Monkeys – “R U Mine?”
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Shepherd Of Fire”
- Foo Fighters – “Something From Nothing”
All three songs will be available to download for $1.99 apiece through the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store for Rock Band 3 and Rock Band Blitz. Even though Harmonix stopped updating the Rock Band Music Store, it never really went away as more than 3,500 songs are currently available to expand your Rock Band experience.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Rock Band 3, Rock Band Blitz
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor leads the pack with 5 nominations at 2015 GDC Awards
The nominees for this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards have been announced and, unsurprisingly, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor leads the way with five nominations, including “Game of the Year.”
Shadow of Mordor will compete for the top prize with other four multi-category nominees including Alien: Isolation, Bayonetta 2, Destiny, and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Believe it or not, the next-most-nominated game, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, was actually shut out of the “Game of the Year” category. The Astronauts’ mystery title was nominated for “Best Narrative,” “Best Audio,” the “Innovation Award,” and “Best Debut.”
Alien: Isolation (“Best Visual Art” and “Best Audio”), Destiny (“Best Audio” and “Best Technology”), and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (“Best Design” and “Best Handheld/Mobile Game”) are each up for two additional awards while Bayonetta 2 is also up for “Best Visual Art.”
A complete list of the nominees for this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards can be found after the break. And be sure to check back for a look at the winners, which will be announced on March 4 during the Game Developers Conference.
[Source: GamesIndustry.biz] (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Bayonetta 2, Destiny, GDC 2015, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Iron Galaxy has released first video of Killer Instinct’s next character, Omen
Iron Galaxy, the developer behind the second season of Killer Instinct, has unveiled the first video footage of the game’s next playable character during their latest liverstream. Omen is known as “The Herald of Gargos” and is a henchman for Killer Instinct 2‘s end boss. He is also Season 2’s “bonus character” and will only be available to players who have purchased the Ultra Edition or Combo Breaker Pack. Like Season 1’s Shadow Jago, there are currently no plans to sell Omen as a separate download.
Iron Galaxy will release a trailer featuring Omen sometime this week and the character should be available to download through the Xbox Games Store a few days after that.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Killer Instinct
Weekly Warp-Up: One… Two… Three… Four… Edition
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
Welcome to another week of the Weekly Warp-Up and welcome to the beginning of Warp Zoned’s fifth year of operation. Running this site for the last four years has been pretty fun, so we’re definitely not stopping now.
Instead, we’re going to look forward. Forward at all the Games of January 2015 that we’re excited for. They’re aren’t many, as the entire release calendar is pretty bare, so maybe we’ll have to replay some of What We Played in December 2014.
One of the games we’re definitely looking forward to playing again is The Walking Dead Season 2: No Going Back, the thrilling conclusion to Telltale’s second Walking Dead adaptation. Warp Zoned Staff Writer Mike Ryan loved it quite a bit and you can read why in his review.
You can also read more of our ramblings from this past week after the break. (more…)
Posted in News